April 29, 2016 at 8:10 p.m.
Make water park opening special
Editorial
The last time we did this, it was 1960.
We are now less than a month away from the grand opening of Portland Water Park.
The building that houses the concession stand and restrooms is complete, the pool is filled with water and a parking lot expansion is expected to be finished before opening day. It took a lot of work, from researching other facilities, to deciding on a funding strategy, to finalizing a design, to raising more than $1.2 million in private donations, to make this $3.2 million gem a reality.
Now that it is, we need to celebrate.
The event to open Portland Water Park should be one we remember for years to come.
Here are a few ideas that could help make the grand opening special:
•Contests to select a boy and girl to be the first to go down the two new 20-foot-tall water slides and/or to have the 60 gallons of water from the dump bucket poured over their heads. This could be an essay contest — in 100 words or fewer, why should you be the first to go down the slide at the new park — or an art contest — draw/paint a picture of yourself having a good time at the new water park.
•A cannon ball contest. Members of the advisory committee, fundraising committee or major donors, could be the judges.
•A two-on-two or three-on-three water basketball tournament. (There’s a hoop on the east side of the lap pool.) Or have a water volleyball tournament. (There’s also a volleyball net.) Or both.
•Relay races across the new lily pad walk.
Other ideas could involve the lazy river or baby pool. There could be a variety of other games and contests in or around the pool area.
Prizes — from single-day tickets, concession stand gift certificates, season passes, etc. — could be offered.
It could be just a single-day event. Or we could use the holiday to make it a three-day extravaganza.
It might be too late to organize some of those suggested events. Maybe there are better ideas out there. Consider the list a starting point.
History tells us we might not celebrate the opening of a facility like this for 50 years.
We should take advantage of the opportunity.
This is a time to take pride in our sparkling new water park, to celebrate and thank all of the donors who made it possible and, most importantly, to have a great time together as a community.
Let’s make a splash. — R.C.
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